MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on recent casualties in textile factory fires, notably in Bangladesh
9.1.2013 - (2012/2908(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Thomas Mann, Gay Mitchell, Filip Kaczmarek, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Daniel Caspary, Elmar Brok, Michèle Striffler, Santiago Fisas Ayxela, Birgit Schnieber-Jastram, Tokia Saïfi, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Ivo Belet on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0004/2013
B7‑0010/2013
European Parliament resolution on recent casualties in textile factory fires, notably in Bangladesh
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Bangladesh, in particular those of 6 September 2007[1], and of 10 July 2008[2],
– having regard to the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on Partnership and Development[3],
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the EU has good, long-standing relations with Bangladesh, including through the Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development;
B. whereas exporting garment products is one of the most important revenue sources for the Bangladeshi economy, amounting annually to around EUR 15.3 billion;
C. whereas on 24 November 2012 a fire in the Tazreen factory, a garment factory in the Ashulia industrial belt of Dhaka, cost the lives of at least 112 people, and 200 people were injured in the accident;
D. whereas, although an official enquiry concluded that the reason for the fire was an act of sabotage, the high death toll was caused by inadequate safety measures, including overcrowding, lack of emergency exits and locked existing exit gates, as well as by a faulty emergency response at management level;
E. whereas marches by textile workers, in protest at the deaths of their colleagues, followed;
F. whereas Siddiq Ur Rahman, acting president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, has stated that the families of the dead would receive BDT 100 000 (EUR 930) in compensation ;
G. whereas in the four weeks since the Tazreen fire, 17 additional conflagrations have broken out in Bangladeshi textile and garment factories;
H. whereas working conditions in Bangladeshi factories are very often poor, with little enforcement of safety laws, overcrowding and minimal safeguards against fire and industrial accidents;
I. whereas hundreds of workers are killed every year in similar accidents all over Bangladesh and southern Asia;
1. Expresses its sorrow at the loss of life suffered in the recent factory fires; extends its condolences to the bereaved families and to those injured;
2. Urges the Bangladeshi Government to immediately impose safety rules for factory sites in accordance with ILO standards and subsequently to enforce them among local manufacturers;
3. Calls on all businesses contracting or subcontracting to factories in Bangladesh and other countries to rely on socially responsible production practices and ensure their goods are produced in factories respecting safety standards;
4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the European External Action Service, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Human Rights Council and the Government and Parliament of Bangladesh.